The 24 countries where female politicians have the most power

Arguably the world's two most powerful women. Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke Every year, the World Economic Forum releases its annual Global Gender Gap index , which ranked the gap between the genders in categories ranging from economic power to educational equality.

One of the measures of equality used by the WEF is political equality between the sexes. To measure political equality, the WEF took three separate measures; the number of women in a country's parliament, the number of female ministers, and the number of years since 1965 that a woman has been head of state.

The three measures were then collated and each country given an individual score out of one.

Many of the countries at the top of the rankings are forward thinking western democracies, but some countries are a little more surprising. Check them out below.

1/

23. UNITED KINGDOM — In the last week, Britain has got its second female prime minister, former Home Secretary Theresa May, who took over from David Cameron. May follows in the footsteps of Margaret Thatcher as a female Conservative Prime Minister. Other powerful women in British politics include Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, recently appointed Home Secretary Amber Rudd, and Justice Secretary Liz Truss.

Theresa May emerges to speak to reporters after being confirmed as the leader of the Conservative Party and Britain's next Prime Minister outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, central London, July 11, 2016.
Reuters/Neil Hall

2/

22. ARGENTINA — Argentina has a long history of powerful female leaders, including the notorious Eva Peron. The country ranks 25th for the number of women in parliament, and 14th for the number of years with a female head of state.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (L) listens to Economy Minister Axel Kicillof during a meeting with governors in Casa Rosada government house in Buenos Aires January 30, 2015.
REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian

3/

21. MOZAMBIQUE — Mozambique ranks 15th in terms of female MPs. 40% of politicians sitting in the country's Assembly of the Republic are women. It also had a female head of state, prime minister Luisa Diogo, for six years between 2004 and 2010.

Former South African and Mozambican first lady Graca Machel speaks during the launch of Mandela Sports & Culture Day in 2013.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

4/

20. COSTA RICA — Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla left office in 2014, the country's only female head of state in the past 50 years. Her four years in office, along with 41% of ministers in the country being female, help make Costa Rica the 20th most politically powerful country when it comes to women.

Former Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla alongside Pope Francis on a visit to the country.
Reuters

5/

19. FRANCE — Half of all ministerial positions in the country are held by women, an honour only held by three other countries surveyed.

French Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy Segolene Royal leaves the Elysee Palace after a weekly cabinet meeting in Paris, France, July 27, 2016.REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

6/

18. SWITZERLAND — Two members of Switzerland's governing Federal Council — Vice President Doris Leuthard and head of Justice Simonetta Sommaruga — are female. Until recently, former president Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf was one of the country's most senior politicians.

Former Swiss president and finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.
Reuters/Ruben Sprich

7/

17. PHILIPPINES — Only four countries have had female leaders for longer than the Philippines in the last 50 years. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo served as president of the country for nine years between 2001 and 2010. The country has been under female rule for 16 years since 1965.

Former Filipino president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo shares a joke with George W. Bush.
Reuters

8/

16. SLOVENIA — Alenka Bratusek was Prime Minister of Slovenia until 2014 and the country currently has 44% female ministers, putting it in the top 10 for that category.

15. NEW ZEALAND — 11 of the past 50 years in New Zealand have passed under female leadership, nine of those under Helen Clark from 1999-2008. The island nation ranks 20th overall for the number of female ministers. 33% are women.

Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, now an administrator at the United Nations Development Programme.
Reuters/Mike Segar

10/

14. SOUTH AFRICA — South Africa did not excel in any particular category, although 42% of its members of parliament are female, one of the highest figures. It has not had a female head of state in the past 50 years.

13. NETHERLANDS — 47% of Dutch ministers are female, more than all but six other countries.

12. CUBA — Cuba's parliament, the National Assembly of People's Power, has the third highest proportion of women in all the countries surveyed by the WEF. 49% of Communist party members sitting in the house are female.

A woman waves Cuban and Vatican flags during Pope Francis' visit to Cuba in 2015.
Reuters

13/

11. GERMANY — Angela Merkel has led Germany since 2005, pushing Germany to 12th position in terms of female leadership. Merkel is almost universally regarded as the most powerful woman in Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
REUTERS/Thomas Peter

14/

10. BOLIVIA — Bolivia is one of only two countries surveyed to have more women in parliament than men. 53% of MPs in the country's Plurinational Legislative Assembly are female.

President Evo Morales' daughter, Eva takes part in a protest in Bolivia's capital La Paz, over the disappearance of 43 Mexican students.
Reuters/David Mercado

15/

9. INDIA — India has had a female leader for 21 of the past 50 years, the second highest proportion of all country's surveyed. Indira Gandhi, the country's first female ruler, lasted for 15 years.

President of India's Congress Party Sonia Gandhi, a member of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty.
Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee

16/

8. BANGLADESH — No country surveyed by the WEF has had a female leader for more than half of the last 50 years, but Bangladesh comes closest. Two female prime ministers, Sheik Hasina and Khaleda Zia, have led the country for a combined 22 years.

Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Reuters/Stefano Rellandini

17/

7. RWANDA — Rwanda's high ranking for the level of political power held by women is largely thanks to having the highest ratio of male-to-female MPs. 64% of the country's parliamentary members are women.

Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwanda's foreign minister.
Reuters/Darren Ornitz

18/

6. IRELAND — In the past 50 years, Ireland has had two female heads of state, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese. The women ruled for a combined 21 years, the third longest stretch of female leadership on this list.

5. SWEDEN — Swedish women are some of the most politically powerful on earth. The country has more female government ministers than male, with 52% of the top political jobs held by ladies. Only 4 countries surveyed had more women in parliament than men.

4. NICARAGUA — 47% of senior government officials in Nicaragua, the Central American republic, are female. This, combined with the fact that 41% of all parliamentary members are women, helps make the country one of the world's best for female political power.

Former Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro and her son Pedro Joaquin Chamorro in 2004.
Reuters

21/

3. NORWAY — Norway's current prime minister, Erna Solberg, has been in charge since 2013. Gro Harlem Brundtland led the country for ten years across two separate terms prior to that. The country also has 47% female ministers, the fifth highest of any country.

Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg.
Reuters/Carlo Allegri

22/

2. FINLAND — Only one country surveyed by the WEF gives women more political power, and no country has a higher proportion of female government ministers than Finland. 63% of high ranking politicians are women, a female-to-male ratio of 1.67

1. ICELAND — 44% of Iceland's government ministers are female, and women have led the country for 20 of the last 50 years. These two figures combine to help make Icelandic women the most politically powerful on earth, according to the WEF.